B.C. man says he won deadly fight with black bear

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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I agree Prax... they need to give their heads a shake.

Besides, if he'd been killed, the bear, and thus its cubs, would have been destroyed anyway. We don't leave bears that kill people.
 

talloola

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Nov 14, 2006
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Yes, he didan instinctive and amazing thing, by actually coming out of this situation alive.
If he would have had a gun, and shot her, he would have had more criticism, but he fought
her with a stick, and obviously he landed a 'lucky' blow, as I would think 99% of the time a
person would lose that battle, so the headlines would have read much differently, and yes,
then the bear would have been hunted down and killed, even though she was also scared and
just trying to protect her cubs.

It's a shame they had to 'put the cubs down', I don't know enough about these situations,
but would have hoped their could have been a way to spare them, and care for them till
they could be returned to the wild, but, I suppose they would not be able to look after
themselves in the wild, don't know how young they were.
 
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Praxius

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Dec 18, 2007
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Yes, he didan instinctive and amazing thing, by actually coming out of this situation alive.
If he would have had a gun, and shot her, he would have had more criticism, but he fought
her with a stick, and obviously he landed a 'lucky' blow, as I would think 99% of the time a
person would lose that battle, so the headlines would have read much differently, and yes,
then the bear would have been hunted down and killed, even though she was also scared and
just trying to protect her cubs.

It's a shame they had to 'put the cubs down', I don't know enough about these situations,
but would have hoped their could have been a way to spare them, and care for them till
they could be returned to the wild, but, I suppose they would not be able to look after
themselves in the wild, don't know how young they were.

When I first read that part, the first thing that came to mind was "Why didn't they put them in a zoo somewhere at the very least?" Sure many might have an issue with that, but at least they'd still be alive and still have a chance to survive.
 

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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When I first read that part, the first thing that came to mind was "Why didn't they put them in a zoo somewhere at the very least?" Sure many might have an issue with that, but at least they'd still be alive and still have a chance to survive.

For the same reason we don't really put pigeons, or mice, or coyotes in zoos. If they want one, they have one, because they're essentially pest species that can be found readily just about anywhere. And raising them until they're old enough to release makes them too familiar with humans, thus a huge danger.
 

Praxius

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Dec 18, 2007
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For the same reason we don't really put pigeons, or mice, or coyotes in zoos. If they want one, they have one, because they're essentially pest species that can be found readily just about anywhere. And raising them until they're old enough to release makes them too familiar with humans, thus a huge danger.

Well I'm aware of not putting pigeons and rats in zoos..... however the zoos near where I live have coyotes, racoons, skunks, and indeed, they have both Grizzies and Black bears. Many, including a couple of bald eagles, they had notifications as to why they were in the zoo, such as an injury which would have killed them normally, or their parents being killed in some fashion or another and have lived in the zoos ever since.

If they did this for these animals, why not for these cubs?

I mean, sure there's probably plenty in that immediate area who are probably not interested in bears in their zoos, but I imagine there would have been plenty of others who would have wanted to take them in.

And you don't always have to release them back to the wild.... if they're too conditioned to the life of a zoo, then it doesn't make any sense to do so. But some do live perfectly long and healthy lives in zoos and for the most part, everything works out in the end.... so I just don't understand why this wasn't an option considering the situation.

Just an option I'm throwing out there, tis all.
 

#juan

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Aug 30, 2005
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There is a lesson to be learned here, and that is that a black bear can be fought off if you have the presence of mind to use the resources at hand. I have no doubt that the cause of the attack was the man blundering between a bear and her cubs. Something that might have helped is a small snuff can of pebbles tied to his belt. That little bit of noise would probably keep him from surprising any animal.
 

talloola

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When I first read that part, the first thing that came to mind was "Why didn't they put them in a zoo somewhere at the very least?" Sure many might have an issue with that, but at least they'd still be alive and still have a chance to survive.

Yeah, I have a problem with that as well. I know they had to 'do something', but it seems
that 'putting them down', was the convenient thing to do. Depends how old they were,
but obviously they were young enough to 'catch', which means they were young enough to
transport somewhere else.They could have been sedated instead of euthanized, then
moved somewhere for further evaluation.
 
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karrie

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Well I'm aware of not putting pigeons and rats in zoos..... however the zoos near where I live have coyotes, racoons, skunks, and indeed, they have both Grizzies and Black bears. Many, including a couple of bald eagles, they had notifications as to why they were in the zoo, such as an injury which would have killed them normally, or their parents being killed in some fashion or another and have lived in the zoos ever since.

If they did this for these animals, why not for these cubs?

Like I said Prax, if they want one, they have one. I didn't say they never put them in zoos, but that they already have them. Zoos require quite a bit more planning than just tossing two cubs in.
 

darkbeaver

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Jan 26, 2006
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For the same reason we don't really put pigeons, or mice, or coyotes in zoos. If they want one, they have one, because they're essentially pest species that can be found readily just about anywhere. And raising them until they're old enough to release makes them too familiar with humans, thus a huge danger.

Karrie hon, I have just a small the tiniest really insignifigant hardly worth mentioning problem with your characterization "pest species" it seems so a little almost insensitive to critters. Could we not refere to them as challenged species or not as beautiful species or not yet loved species, pest is such a bad demeaning unnice word with respect to our fellow creatures. Sorry for being a pest.:smile:
 

GreenFish66

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The Buck stops here!..An Animal story

Well ..Being attacked by a bear is far worse then my run in!,,,,Although it wasn't a bear .I do have an animal story,,,Just happened about 2 hours ago!

Predetermined irony?

After waiting ten minutes for a coffee at the Tim hortons drive-thru (shouldn't be allowed to serve sandwichs thru the window.),I continued down the high way, on my way home.I never take the highway, but was running late ,so I made an exception..MMMMM coffee..I take a sip...Put my coffee back in the tray ........

.WOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH ...NOOOOOOO! ..7 point buck jumps onto the highway!,,,,,Can't avoid it! ...No cars on the road,,,,Veered left with the buck to lessen the impact....Prayed to god ,,,,,and .....

WHHHAAAAAMMMMMMOOOOO!...Sudden stop,,

,Count my fingers ..and my blessings ...I was not injured (obviously),just a little shaken..Wish I could say as much for the Buck...Kickin and flalin' around...The buck tryed to run with no such luck..Back end broken for sure..little hope for this powerful animal...Sadden me to watch it struggle to flee...Wouldn't give in...Couldn't get up....Within a minute ,,,Hunters were there to claim the prize.,,,Turned my stomach listening to them sizing up the meat.All afraid to kill it and waste their permit......Luckliy the O.P.P showed up...Put the buck down...I watched ....What a terrible accident...!

But was it an accident???....Did the Buck deserve to die?.No ..Was it the bucks time to die.?..Well..Judging by all the hunters...and the front of my car...It was his time....Did I deserve to get in this accident ?..Yes I did...After the day I had ..It all added up to that moment ..Those of you who have read my messages may agree...Given all the facts!!..My piece of crap car was a write off( 2 yrs ago)..I was lucky...The buck wasn't ..The hunters won the prize!!..I saw it coming!...Just couldn't avoid the outcome!....What a day!!!

Can't wait to re-live it in my dreams tonight!(I m a Lucid dreamer)
Can't wait till the whiplash sets in !

B.greenfish66
 

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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So glad to hear about your good luck GreenFish. That could have gone SO badly. Better the buck than you. Hope the whiplash is minimal.
 

lone wolf

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Nov 25, 2006
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They just magically appear don't they? Then ... the lights go out, the hood comes up and you hope whatever you're gonna hit next is nice and soft. Empathies.... Here's the bright side. You're now a Canuck!
 

Praxius

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They just magically appear don't they? Then ... the lights go out, the hood comes up and you hope whatever you're gonna hit next is nice and soft. Empathies.... Here's the bright side. You're now a Canuck!

A couple of months ago I was driving through Burnside here in the HRM with a friend, and just shootin the shat as usual, when I point out and let my friend know who was driving, that there was a deer on the side of the road looking like he's about to cross. He didn't even see it, but it didn't budge as we passed it.

But of course there was an 18-wheeler behind us and I swear those damn things just get bored and like to play chicken, cuz he didn't bother to cross and chance the little car....

.... oh no... he wanted to challenge the 18-wheeler, and boom off he went accross the highway barely missing the 18-wheeler as the guy slammed on his breaks. Of course I had a good chuckle, but I really don't get those deer.

Like, they can stand out between the woods and the highway, stand there for hours, do their little thing..... not a damn car will go by for minutes, giving them all kinds of opportunity to cross if they needed to..... but they never cross unless a vehicle is coming and they must figure "Hey, let's see if I can get a face lift" and then bolt accross within a fraction of a second of hitting you..... or perhaps actually hitting you.

What's with that? Are they depressed or something?